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England 33-12 Ireland: hosts win Women’s Six Nations rugby union opener – live | Women’s Six Nations
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A reminder that France beat Italy 40-7 earlier today.
Wales v Scotland to come.
Here’s the player of the match, England’s skipper, Meg Jones:
There were always going to be nerves after the back of a World Cup. We found ways, that’s what winning teams do. I’m sure we’ll brush up and I’m proud of the girls.
We have huge growth potential. Players have stepped into leadership roles. They will have more of a voice now and own their roles.
I’ll probably head home and doing some washing to keep me grounded. I’ll reflect. Coming out of the tunnel was amazing and singing the anthem was second to none.
Full-time! England 33-12 Ireland
34 wins in a row! Can’t say they don’t deserve that. By far the better team but Ireland will leave with some credit in the bank. This was closer than I thought it would be but nowhere near a close contest. Credit to England and Jones in particular.
80 min: Ireland are running this from inside their own half. Oh, a wonderful line from Dalton meets the perfect pass and she’s through a gap. Kildunne snaffles it as she runs back and recovers the ball. That’ll be that.
79 min: England win a penalty. They kick it out but from the line-out they knock-on. This game is fizzling out as Meg Jones is announced the deserving recipient of the player of the match award.
78 min: Another scrum penalty for England allows Harrison the opportunity to kick it long and far and for a line-out just inside her own half.
77 min: A little knock-on on England’s 22, from Ireland, means that attack comes to an end. It looked promising after a fingertip secured the line-out, but the line speed from the English put the Irish midfield under pressure.
76 min: Momentum is with Ireland now as they win a penalty on the floor. It’s too little, too late of course, but they can take great heart from this second half performance. It’s the first time since 2013 that they’ve scored two tries against England. O’Brien’s kicking has (mostly) been very good. She lands another raking penalty out just short of the 22. One more try perhaps?
TRY! England 33-12 Ireland (King, 74)
On her captaincy debut, King scores! Ireland won’t be denied for long. Amidst the morass of bodies, King spotted some free grass beyond the try line and hit the line hard and carried it over from close range. Lovely stuff. The conversion from under the poles is good.
73rd min: Held up over England’s line! Ireland were efficient off the top of the line-out from the penalty and they inched their way forward. A series of strong carries brought them close. They had the advantage so worth a dart. They couldn’t dot down but will go again.
72 min: It’s been ding-dong in the scrums. Ireland win a penalty. O’Brien, from her own half, pings a touch finder beyond England’s 22. Good nudge that.
70 min: Ireland will have the scrum as the stadium announcer lets us know that this is a record crowd for the Women’s Six Nations. A crowd of 77, 120 in the house.
TRY! England 33-5 Ireland (Kildunne, 67)
England hit back immedaitely! Kildunne brings out the cowboy celebration as she skins her opposite number down in the left corner. It all started with Jones running over a tackler, kicking ahead and then making a tackle as England pinned Ireland down in their own red zone. O’Brien’s return kick didn’t have enough oomph on it and England could attack from the 22. By the time they found Kildunne joining the line and charging down the left, the writing was on the wall. Rowland fails from the tee for the first time.
TRY! England 28-5 Ireland (McGann, 65)
Ireland are on the board! Finally, they land a blow. Off the back of the rolling maul, they come close, but not close enough. They need to go again and McGann showed immense strength to hold off a challenge and stay infield as she dotted down in the right corner. Her smile as she comes up from the ground tells a story. The conversion is missed, but at least Ireland won’t leave London empty handed.
63 min: Penalty now for Ireland. O’Brien hoofs it towards the corner and finds touch. C’mon Ireland! Let’s see what you’ve got from here!
62 min: We’re back with a mighty England scrum that monsters the Irish pack. They win another penalty and though they run the ball with an advantage, they’ll come back with Harrison kicking to touch.
60 min: Hunt is back on her feet and will stay out there. She’s getting some cover on her knee but looks OK.
60 min: Muir is munched in contact just as she passes and spills it. We’ll have an Irish scrum inside England’s half. No, in fact we’ll have an English line-out as the ball didn’t go forward, but in fact came off Hogan’s hand. Doesn’t matter in the end as Hunt is crunched and stays down. She might be in a spot of bother here. Not sure what the decision is. The main bit is that Hunt needs some medical attention.
58 min: That seems to have knocked the stuffing out of Ireland. Once again a promising move comes to nothing as Kabeya pinches it. But they’re back on the ball as Feaunati spills in contact. Wafer runs it back but she’s drilled hard. Dalton now and she is also hammered. They kick ahead after failing to breach the line and Kildunne mops up.
TRY! England 28-0 Ireland (Breach, 54)
Turn of pace! A lightning bolt from the blue! Ireland had it but then the ball was charged down by Jones who then pounced on the bouncing pill before feeding the onrushing Breach. She did brilliantly to ride the challenge Kinlan who almost held the ball up, but Breach managed to roll in the contact and dot down over her head. Brilliant stuff from the flying winger who deserved that. Rowland keeps the score ticking with another conversion.
54 min: Harrison is on the park and is flinging passes. But England lose the ball in contact so Ireland come back at them. Maloney-MacDonald has it. Woah! In a flash, England are back on the ball….
51 min: England replace their props and their halfbacks in time for this Irish scrum five out from the Irish line.
50 min: An unreal steal from Ireland’s Maloney-MacDonald! My word, that is stunning work. It was needed, too. England came within inches of the try line after Kildunne off-loaded for the other Maloney-MacDonald who burst down the left wing. England came flooding forward with Jones and then Matthews hitting the line at pace. But just as the try seemed an inevitability, the Irish hooker stole in and came away with the ball. The passage ends with Ireland winning the scrum feed close to their own line after repelling another English attack, holding up the ball carrier under the shade of their own sticks.
48 min: Cokayne roars like a Viking as England’s front row secures a scrum penalty. England might not be at their best today, but they are stubbornly refusing Ireland a tow-hold in the contest.
46 min: Kildunne drops the ball in the backfield. She’s not having a great game. O’Brien, with a free-kick following the Irish scrum, hoiked a high kick into the sunshine that caused the England full-back some grief. Still, the reigning player of the year should be snaffling that. Ireland with a chance to launch from a scrum in the middle of the park inside England’s patch.
45 min: Lutui’s first carry is meaty and gives her team go-forward. Kildunne runs a lovely line and makes ground. Good continuity from England. Rowland finds Breach who finds Kabeya in the right tram. But Ireland come away with it as England spill it around the ruck. Sloppy from the world champions. A shame. That move was starting to look slick.
44 min: Talling will be stretchered off. She gets a round of applause as she makes way for teenager Luitui, who will make her debut in the second row.
44 min: Poor from Ireland as Hogan strays offside as O’Brien rakes a lovely kick into space in the far right corner. But Hogan wasn’t paying attention and Ireland give away a soft penalty. There’s a delay as Talling has stayed down. She doesn’t look in good touch. England’s troubles in the second row could get worse.
42 min: Parsons is wrapped up by Kildunne near the left touch – as Ireland would see iot. O’Brien kicks across for Hogan. Ireland are keeping the ball and inching forward. Better from them but still around halfway. O’Brien kicks and it’s a little meek as she coughs away possession. England comfortably mop up on their own 22 before they execute a slick exit.
41 min: Aitchison, such a slick player, rakes a good touch finder to get the half under way after Ireland’s restart. The Irish win the line-out and rumble beyond the 10 metre line.
The players are sprinting out for the second half. They can’t wait to get going again. Ireland with all to prove if you’re asking me. Are they the real deal? Let’s find out.
Half-time: England 21-0 Ireland
That brings the half to an end. England utterly dominant. Ireland were decent, but not consistent. One turnover became a spilled ball. A solid scrum morphed into a penalty given away on the floor. England never left third gear though that was more than good enough for a commanding lead. Back in a bit.
40 min: Has Kildunne scored!? It was a brilliant move off the scrum and a wonder off-load after contact by Jones, but has Kildunne spilled the ball? Yes, she has! Oh wow, that was a brilliant recovery tackle from Kinlan who motored back and put in a hit that dislodged the ball just as Kildunne was about to dot down. Fantastic work from the Irish winger but Kildunne really should have scored there.
39 min: Lovely strike move after a well contested scrum sees England canter 40 metres in no time. The ball is flung left for the onrushing Kildunne who then feeds Maloney-Macdonald on the wing. Kildunne has it back and then they go infield. Aitchison kicks long and straight to Kinlan who makes a mess of things, dropping a goober on her own 22. England will have one final chance to add to their tally before halftime.
37 min: Another chance for Ireland to set up a line-out after winning a penalty on the floor, but it’s bad to worse for the women in green. O’Brien goes for the perfect kick but misses, kicking it beyond the try area and she hands possession away. England opt for the scrum just beyond their own 22.
35 min: Ireland win a penalty inside England’s half and O’Brien finds touch just outside the 22. Can they do anything with this? No! Ives Campion rises high and steals the ball. Once again, Ireland fluff their lines. Aitchison clears and finds touch 10 metres down field.
Event organisers said it would show the “resistance” to the ban on the group was “stronger than ever”.
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Half-time reading
Half time: Liverpool 2-0 Fulham
Just what the doctor ordered for Arne Slot and Liverpool, a largely stress-free first half. Rio Ngumoha, 17, and Mo Salah, 33, curled two fine goals in the space of five minutes to put Liverpool in control – and, as things stand, four points clear of the Champions League-chasing pack. (Though Chelsea have a game in hand against City tomorrow.)
45+2 min Jones is back on the field, at least for the remainder of this half.
45+1 min “Tim Wheeler was 17 when he recorded Girl From Mars,” writes Matt Dony. “Mary Shelley began drafting Frankenstein at the same age. Picasso already had Science and Charity under his belt by his 17th birthday. And Rio Ngumoha goes and does that. 17. Seventeen. Unbelievable. Still, maybe I’ll still create a masterpiece…”
I can’t lie, Matt, I’m a bit disappointed to be excluded from your list of precocious 17-year-olds.
45 min Curtis Jones is down with what looks like a muscle injury. There will be two minutes of added time.
43 min Fulham were having their best spell when Ngumoha scored. Now they’re in danger of being finished off before half-time. Ngumoha tees up Robertson for a shot on the half turn that is saved to his right by Leno.
43 min “Robster!” writes Simon McMahon. “I’m high on crack life after a last kick winner for Dundee United today, and also the fact that it’s Masters Saturday Andrew ‘Andy’ Robertson is starting for Liverpool. He might be my favourite player of the last 15 years. The season he spent at Tannadice seems like a distant dream, but a very pleasant one.
“Will never forget this goal he scored, I watched him all the way as he made his way forward before drilling a shot into the corner. If the net hadn’t been there it would have made its way to me as I stood open mouthed, like he knew I was watching and was trying to pass to me. He celebrated right in front of me and my daughter, who was about 15 at the time, not an awful lot younger than him. Happy days.
“I guess, even after the career high of a Scottish Cup final to defeat to St. Johnstone in 2014, he’s done alright for himself since he left, and even though we’ve been relegated twice in the decade since, I’d still have him back.”
42 min That’s Mo Salah’s 256th goal for Liverpool. Two hundred and fifty blooming six.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Fulham (Salah 40)
Mo Salah makes it two! It was almost a mirror image of Ngumoha’s goal, curled and placed immaculately into the far corner with his left foot. Ngumoha and Gakpo combined to see up Salah, who took the shot first time and swept it beautifully past Leno. He didn’t strike it was quite as cleanly as Ngumoha but both shots were right in the corner and gave Leno no chance.
40 min Szoboszlai wins the ball high up the field and finds Wirtz, who pings a shot over the bar from 20 yards.
It’s Rio Ngumoha’s first goal at Anfield, and nobody at the ground tonight will forget it in a hurry. Anthony Taylor played a good advantage, allowing Wirtz to move forward and find Ngumoha on the left side of the area. He twisted Castagne one way and then the other before moving back onto his right foot and curling a perfectly placed shot into the far corner. He set it outside the far post with just enough curler to bring it back into ithe net. That’s such an accomplished goal, the kind a 17-year-old should be incapable of scoring.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Fulham (Nguomha 36)
Rio Nguomha, 17 years old, gives Liverpool the lead with a beauty!
35 min After another smooth Fulham attack, Robinson badly overhits his cross. But this is a good spell for Fulham, easily their best of the match.
33 min Harry Wilson comes close against his old club with a trademark curler from the edge of thea rea that dips onto the roof of the net. Mamardashvili probably had it covered, but I wouldn’t put the farm on it.
32 min Fulham are growing into this game. Bobb’s snapshot from 12 yards is pushed away by Mamardashvili, diving to his left. A fairly comfortable save.
29 min King plays a fine reverse pass to the underlapping Castagne, who moves into the area and arrows a cutback towards the unmarked Iwobi 15 yards out He can’t control the ball and the attacks peters out. Moments later Iwobi shoots straight at Mamardashvili from distance.
23 min Ngumoha almost beats Castagne in the area with an extravagant piece of skill. Castagne read it well and got between his man and the ball.
Liverpool have been very good so far.
22 min Salah has a close-range shot well blocked, I think by Berge. He tried to delay the shot to buy a yard, but it was such a crowded penalty area and there was just no room to get a shot away.
20 min Wirtz, Ngumoha and Robertson combine nicely to find Gakpo, whose low drive from 20 yards goes not far wide. Leno probably had it covered.
19 min Fulham’s first corner is punched away with authority by Mamardashvili.
17 min Ngumoha goes down in the area after a slightly clumsy challenge from Bobb. Anthony Taylor waves it away.
16 min It’s still all Liverpool. They’re playing with good rhythm and plenty of intensity. So far Fulham haven’t had a chance to get on the ball.
14 min: Good save! Frimpong fires the ball into Salah, who hits a sharp right-foot shot that is well stopped at the near post by the plunging Leno.
11 min Robertson runs onto a Frimpong cutback, only to hit a tame shot from the edge of the area that is easily blocked.
9 min Ngumoha gets away from Castagne in the area but chips his cross too close to Leno.
9 min The lively Frimpong wins another corner down the right. Salah’s inswinger is nutted away by Bassey.
6 min Nothing comes of the corner, with Konate penalised for wrestling with Berge.
5 min Salah finds the underlapping Frimpong, who wins the first corner of the game. Liverpool have started pr-etty well.
3 min Both teams have started in a 4-2-3-1 formation as expected.
1 min Fulham kick off from left to right as we watch. The home fans launch straight into a song about Andy Robertson, who announced this week that he will leave the club this summer. £8m he cost.
A peedie reminder of the teams
Liverpool (4-2-3-1) Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Jones; Salah, Wirtz, Ngumoha; Gakpo
Subs: Woodman, Gomez, Kirkez, Isak, Mac Allister, Chiesa, Ekitike, Gravenberch, Nyoni.
Fulham (4-2-3-1) Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Iwobi; Wilson, King, Bobb; Muniz.
Subs: Lecomte, Diop, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Lukic, Cairney, Smith Rowe, Chukwueze, Raul Jimenez.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
Marco Silva talks to Sky Sports
I like to be ambitious but realistic – Liverpool’s home season has not been that different from last season. We are prepared for a tough game but we are capable of playing good football and let’s hope we can reach our level again at Anfield.
It’s another big game for us. We want to restart in the best way possible [after the international break].
Arne Slot’s pre-match thoughts
[On making five changes] That made complete sense after the week we’ve had. It’s been very demanding physically and mentally. I tried to use yesterday’s training session to see who had recovered fully.
Some of them have to play again because I’m out of options in those positions. We have a lot of ingredients for a good game.
If you play for Liverpool, every game is a must-win, and this one as well.
Premier League results
And this is what it means for the Premier League table. There’s a Spandex mini-league taking place below the top four.
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
Team news: Salah and Robertson start, Fulham unchanged
Mo Salah returns to the Liverpool team after being manacled to the bench in Paris. Andy Robertson also starts, as do Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo and 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha. Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Joe Gomez, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch all drop to the bench.
Fulham haven’t played since a 3-1 win over Burnley on 21 March. Marco Silva has named an unchanged side, which means an exciting front four of Harry Wilson, Josh King, Oscar Bobb and Rodrigo Muniz.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1) Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Jones; Salah, Wirtz, Ngumoha; Gakpo
Subs: Woodman, Gomez, Kirkez, Isak, Mac Allister, Chiesa, Ekitike, Gravenberch, Nyoni.
Fulham (4-2-3-1) Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Iwobi; Wilson, King, Bobb; Muniz.
Subs: Lecomte, Diop, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Lukic, Cairney, Smith Rowe, Chukwueze, Raul Jimenez.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
Andy Hunter
Arne Slot has said last season’s title triumph “postponed” the end of an era at Liverpool but that the club were under no illusions a rebuild was required when appointing him as Jürgen Klopp’s successor.
Two more links to the Klopp era will be removed this summer when Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah leave on free transfers. Virgil van Dijk, Alisson and Joe Gomez, the remaining players from the squad that delivered Premier League and Champions League success to Anfield under Klopp, will then enter the final years of their contracts.
Slot is under intense pressure after a dismal season that has brought 16 defeats, a figure he knows is unacceptable. The head coach, however, insists he and the club hierarchy, including the sporting director, Richard Hughes, and the owner, Fenway Sports Group, remain aligned on the reasons for the problems, including an inevitable transition period after Klopp. The turmoil that accompanies transition, Slot believes, was delayed by last season’s Premier League title.
Preamble
Pop quiz, hotshot. Which of Liverpool’s next two games is more important: Fulham (H) or Paris Saint-Germain (H). It’s the Fulham game we’re covering today, so let’s try to hype that within an inch of its life make the case for that being the big one. It’s pretty simple: Liverpool have a 5-10 per cent of overcoming a 2-0 deficit against one of the greatest club sides in modern history, so they should prioritise qualifying for next year’s Ch£mpion$ League. Next stop, rocket science.
Liverpool have a tough Premier League run-in, including matches away to Everton, Man Utd and Aston Villa, and their home form will probably determine whether they finish in the top five. Even allowing for some good recent home form – Liverpool have scored 24 goals in the last seven games at Anfield – this is unlikely to be an easy night. Fulham can give any Premier League team a game, as they showed that last season when they took four points off a Liverpool side that romped to the title.
It’s too easy, when spring comes around, that Fulham are safely in mid-table and have nothing much to play for. Wrong! They started the day in ninth and have every chance of qualifying for Europe for the first time since 2011-12. They could even reach the Champions League: if they win today, they will be only two points behind Liverpool.
Kick off 5.30pm BST
I Am Maximus wins the Grand National for the second time for trainer Willie Mullins at Aintree – pulling off a feat last achieved by Red Rum in doing so.
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